IBM: Cyber Monday numbers reach all-time high

Armonk, N.Y. -- IBM reported Tuesday that online spending surged 30.3% year-over-year on Cyber Monday, an all-time high.



Mobile shopping rose 70% over the prior year.



As part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark revealed the following additional Cyber Monday key findings:

• Online shopping momentum hit its highest peak at 11:25 a.m. EST. As in 2011, consumer shopping also maintained strong momentum after commuting hours on both the east and west coast.

• More than 18% of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retailer's site, an increase of more than 70% over 2011. Mobile sales reached close to 13%, an increase of more than 96% over 2011.

• The iPad continued to generate more traffic than any other tablet or smartphone, driving more than 7% of online shopping. This was followed by iPhone at 6.9% and Android at 4.5%. The iPad also continued to dominate tablet traffic reaching a holiday high of 90.5%. Amazon Kindle leapt into second at 2.6% followed by the Samsung Galaxy at 2% and the Barnes and Noble Nook at 0.6%.

• Consumers shopped in store, online and on mobile devices simultaneously to get the best bargains. Overall, 58.1% of consumers used smartphones compared to 41.9% who used tablets to surf for bargains on Cyber Monday.

• While consumers continued to spend more, they once again shopped with greater frequency to take advantage of retailer deals as well as free shipping. This led to a drop in average order value by 6.6% to $185.12. However, the average number of items per order increased 14.1% to 8.34, compared with Black Friday.

• Shoppers referred from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube generated 0.41% of all online sales on Cyber Monday, a decrease of more than 26% from 2011.

IBM also compared Cyber Monday results to Black Friday in its report, finding that:

• Cyber Monday 0nline sales were up more than 36% over Black Friday.

• As expected, mobile sales decreased as consumers went back to work and conducted more of their shopping from their PC. On Cyber Monday both mobile traffic and sales were down more than 20% from Black Friday.

• Shoppers referred from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube grew by more than 20% over Black Friday.

• Shoppers’ positive consumer sentiment on promotions, product availability and convenience all grew over Black Friday. Positive sentiment around retailers themselves also maintained its overall three-to-one ratio.

“Cyber Monday was not only the pinnacle of the Thanksgiving shopping weekend but when the cash register closed it officially became the biggest online shopping day ever,” said Jay Henderson, strategy director, IBM Smarter Commerce. “Retailers that adopted a smarter marketing approach to commerce were able to adjust to the shifting shopping habits of their customers, whether in-store, online or via their mobile device of choice, and fully benefit from this day and the entire holiday weekend.”



Cyber Monday sales growth was led by several industries, which include:

• Department stores continued to offer compelling deals and promotions that drove sales to grow by 43.1% over Cyber Monday 2011;

• Health and Beauty sales increased 25.1% year over year;

• Home goods maintained its momentum this year, reporting a 26.8% increase in sales from Cyber Monday 2011; and

• Apparel sales were also strong this holiday with Cyber Monday numbers showing an increase of 25.3% over 2011.